Velvet Ant | The Cow Killer Ant

This creature is something you wouldn’t want to touch.

This is the Velvet Ant.

Also, referred to as the Cow Killer Ant.
This is not actually an ant at all but a type of wasp
from the family Mutillidae of more than 7000 species.

Females are wingless and resemble large hairy ants.

Their striking appearance features vibrant hues and a soft,
velvety texture. Hence the name.

They get their moniker,
the Cow Killer due their immensely painful sting.

The pain is so excruciating that some believe it can kill a cow.
Female velvet ants have the longest stinger compared to their body size of all stinging wasps, bees and ants.
Aside from that, they have extremely tough exoskeletons.
For comparison, it takes around 11 times more strength to crush a velvet ant than it would to squash a honeybee.

They have no known predators.
No insectivores are known to hunt due to their defences.
Even Entomologists struggle to pierce them with pins when mounting
them in display cabinets.

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